I'd think you'd pretty much have to be a fucking moron not to but that's my opinion.
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Personally he scares the crap out of me. Way too many question marks for me to want to spend a 1st round pick on. I'd rather go for DE/DL or OT. I could see spending a 2nd on him, but if we want a receiver, I'd rather have Mingo, Scott, Perry or even Palmer than Johnston. He's athletically gifted, but I have serious questions about his catching ability. He catches nearly every pass against his body, doesn't high point the ball. I'm just not a fan using our 31st for him.
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I dreamt the pick was Q Johnston last night.
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The NFL's list of draft attendees is interesting at minimum... They don't invite Johnston but they invite Flowers, White, and Branch all of which I'd consider less likely to go in the 1st round. I hate watching prospects sit in the green room on day 2. I think there's a solid chance at least one is.

Jordan Addison, WR, USC
Will Anderson Jr., LB, Alabama
Brian Branch, DB, Alabama
Jalen Carter, DL, Georgia
Zay Flowers, WR, Boston College
Christian Gonzalez, CB, Oregon
Paris Johnson Jr., T, Ohio State
Will Levis, QB, Kentucky
Joey Porter Jr., CB, Penn State
Anthony Richardson, QB, Florida
Bijan Robinson, RB, Texas
Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Ohio State
C.J. Stroud, QB, Ohio State
Keion White, DE, Georgia Tech
Tyree Wilson, DE, Texas Tech
Devon Witherspoon, CB, Illinois
Bryce Young, QB, Alabama
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I’d say White and Branch slip to day 2.
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C Simms has Michael Wilson as his #4 WR, says he's a 1st round talent but had some injury history.
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Some injury history would be an understatement. The dude breaks his dick pulling it out to piss. I don't see how he gets drafted before late day 3.
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Read on the board earlier that Johnston wasn’t invited to the draft for day 1. Basically they’re assuming he won’t go in the 1st round.
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I think it means he could actually make it to our range, but they don't even invite 32 players, so it doesn't necessarily mean they don't think he will be a 1st either.
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I was checking out his stats earlier and I don't think I saw where he even once played a full season. Hard Pass.
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Stanford kid, right?

I wasn't even terribly impressed with the healthy version of him.

Maybe a 7th rounder but looks for all the world like a UDFA to me.
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Yeah. I feel the same.
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It's so odd to me that some years you have the draft-heads taking like 3-4 safeties in the first round (foolishly, IMO).

And this year I don't think there are any, but Branch is on par with 90% of the guys the talking heads have projected in the first the last several years.

I'm not even remotely interested in a 1st round safety, but Branch is a blue-chipper, man.

I guess he's probably more of a hybrid guy than a pure single-high and maybe that's why people aren't projecting him as high. But Hamilton wasn't some freak athlete/single high last year and he went in the top 15. Hill and Cine went in the first. Pitre and Brisker mid/high 2nd.

I mean he can't possibly make it to 40, can he? Hell, the Bengals should be all over the guy. So should the Bills given the age of their safeties. The Eagles lost both of theirs in FA, right? That's 3 teams all in the back of the round who can easily justify going with Branch and essentially have a zero percent chance of the guy not becoming a high quality player at a position of need.

I just don't understand why he's not being projected in the first when there's a 1st round safety basically every year and he's the clear cream of this season's crop.
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I've ran a few mocks where he's there at 31 and I just kinda think......hmmmm. I know we took Cook last year, but it's kinda the same thing for me as the "take another CB early" thing.

I love having versatile safeties that can move around and do alot. It just makes it so diverse back there in terms of coverages. You could drop Reid into that versatile "move" safety like they did with Matheiu one snap then deep the next.
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Nah - I'm not buying it.

Branch is going in the first round. There's just no way a guy as instinctive as he is won't have at least one team falling in love with the idea of him quarterbacking the secondary. And with 3 teams (off the top of my head) in the back of the 1st that have physical defenses who also need a safety, he's just a no-brainer to one of them.

The Eagles have a pick at about 10, right? That's where they will make their splashy pick.

Branch doesn't get past them at 30, if he even makes it that far. I'll say Philly takes Bijan Robinson at 10 and Branch at 30.
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